Planting the Seeds for 2021 {Gardening & Life}
Regardless of the crazy year almost behind us, the last few days of any year I tend to get reflective about what has passed and also think about what might be to come. I can’t say I generally make “resolutions” per se, but I do try to start making some plans and thinking about goals I would like to hit for the months and year to come. Even when times are uncertain, or perhaps especially so, I think it is still important to give yourself something to work towards, even on the smallest of levels.
For me, one of the joys of this time of year is looking forward to our spring garden. Last year my boyfriend’s mother gave us our first seed catalog from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds for Christmas. I remember cozying up with a blanket and taking my time enjoying perusing the hundreds of wonderful pages full of plants. I dog-eared all the items I wanted to try to grow and eventually put in an order for our 2020 garden.
We had some great success with a number of the items I chose to add to our collection of saved and purchased seeds. The beans did well considering it was our first time growing them, and we learned some good lessons to hopefully have an even better harvest this year. I still have plenty of the seeds above to grow more in 2021. The lemon cukes were the biggest success, which shouldn’t be surprising given how well cucumbers do in our climate. The patty pan and candy roaster squashes also offered up a fine yield, which we hope to replicate going forward.
A few weeks ago I got the latest version of the free catalog from Baker Creek to inspire my choices to add for the coming year. Before making any purchases, I pulled out our collection of seeds from years past to get rid of any duds and see what we still had so I didn’t buy more than we really need. We do save seeds from our own garden hauls and often from items I buy from local farmers at the market. Some of our best growers have been volunteers from the compost bin or seeds saved from previous hauls. Once I cleaned house, it was time to dream about juicy tomatoes and fresh herbs not too far in the future…
What’s New?
We have quite a good herb garden already, but there were a few items I have been meaning to procure for a while. I finally remembered to add lavender to keep the pollinators happy and rosemary (how the heck did I not already have rosemary?) to my new order. We were also in need of more basil seeds since we were down to the last of the purple basil seeds from last year. I also decided to try planting some marigolds in a few of the beds as some of my online gardening buddies have suggested them for pest control. Plus, why not add some flowers to the mix?
We had some gorgeous tomato plants last year, although we fought a good battle against the caterpillars and squirrels to harvest many of the mature fruits. The boyfriend’s golden fertilizer did so well we actually realized we probably overcrowded the beds, as well. Always a learning experience this gardening thing. I picked out a few different tomato varieties this year, a larger and cherry size since the smaller ones tend to make it to the plate easier with less snatching from the pests. A new eggplant was also on the order as we somehow missed growing any this past year. I opted for a green variety this time around since it is not one I’ve seen locally. That’s one of the great things about growing your own–you can get heirloom items you wouldn’t otherwise have access to!
Our fig tree we got this year from a clipping is doing quite well, as are our transplanted strawberry plants from another family friend, but as a fruit lover I wanted to add some melons to my dream harvest. My dad had some great success in 2020 taking control over his health and going mostly plant based in his dietary intake. Watermelon was his favorite fruit of the summer. Given that we had great success with a local heirloom this last year (the candy roaster squash), I opted for a Georgia variety of watermelon to try for this year. It would be wonderful to have enough to share with him as he continues his healthy lifestyle. My mother loves melons, as well, so we’ll see how the Golden Jenny does for us, too!
We’ll also grow other staples like more cucumbers, some greens, summer and autumn squashes, along with whatever else we have in our seed collection. I still want to try to work on our planning for autumn/winter growing as we can’t seem to get the timing right, but we tend to do quite well for spring/summer. As I wrote in an article for our holiday corporate challenge, just the fun of dreaming and planning what we might be able to grow is quite enjoyable for me. It’s a great way to forget about any current stresses or challenges. Gardening can be hard work and there’s always pests and mother nature that often put a wrench in your plans, but ultimately it is a very satisfying process. To put the tiniest of seeds in the dirt then watch it grow from seedling, to flowering, to fruiting–it never ceases to amaze me.
There’s nothing like watching that first pop of green coming out from the dirt once you start planting our seedlings. We’ll start quite a bit of our spring garden indoors in just a few months, so it’s easy to monitor the process daily. Plus there is just something so nice about it being cold outside and knowing once it is warm your little plant babies will really start to flourish. Growing from seed definitely takes more patience, but as I said above, you have so much more access to different plants than just buying plants from the local store. Though that can be a great option if you get started late or don’t have the time to nurture a plant from seed. There are so many ways to dip your toes in the gardening waters. Whether you just grow a few herbs in containers or plan a whole yard full of outdoor beds, every little bit that we take control over our own food production is a beautiful thing.
Looking ahead…
There were a lot of things that didn’t go the way I planned for this past year, but I’m happy to be looking ahead and thinking about what I want to accomplish in the days to come. This year taught me to be even more patient and flexible in many ways, but it also gave me lessons in perseverance and fortitude. Those values are important in life and gardening. And I have a feeling there will be plenty more life lessons ahead…
I’m just grateful to have an outdoor haven to look forward to escaping to again. Really, I know how lucky I am to have the security to do something as simple as gardening. I can only hope this coming year sees even more people starting their own gardens. I saw so many people jumping in this year, and it was a blast to follow along with them! I really have no idea what 2021 will bring as a whole, but there will be plants…lots and lots of plants…
